Uzumaki Legacy
by NeolithicMonarch
Summary: The Uzumaki clan were proud and feared throughout the world. Watch, as the last of the Uzumaki makes his way in the world and becomes the legacy to the once great clan. The Whirlpools swirl, the tide flows, the roots grow, and the will of fire is stoked.
1. Chapter 1

**This is new…I just cannot think of anything for my other stories…I am fresh out of ideas for them… Harry Potter stories and my brain just aren't gelling.**

**This is just a fairly short first chapter to try and gauge possible interest for this story. Please leave your thoughts and if you think I should continue. I have to admit, this chapter has come WAY easier than anything else I've written before.  
**

**In this story the hate for Naruto won't be nearly as high as in so many fics. Most civilians will not like him, but the hate just won't be there. Most of the shinobi will find him rather annoying, but it is also coupled with some respect as well. Most will be indifferent to him.**

Chapter I

The Uzumaki clan of Uzushiogakure was among the most feared of shinobi clans and for good reason. Their ability and aptitude in the sealing arts were the greatest ever seen in the elemental nations. With it, they could defeat entire nations. This, combined by their incredible longevity gifted to them by their potent chakra is what led to their downfall. Fear is an extremely powerful driving force, and the Uzumaki were feared by all their enemies.

In the first hours of the Third Great Shinobi War, Konoha and Iwa met in battle along the borders of Kusa. Fearing the alliance of Uzu and Konoha, a preemptive attack was launch at Uzu, destroying the village and scattering her inhabitants. The once great clan and her village were in ruins.

Satisfied by their victory, Iwa began to launch their all-out attack on the Leaf Village. It would be a bloody war in which thousands on each side would die. The pride of both villages were at stake and neither were willing to back down. The deathblow delivered to the Uzumaki clan put a serious damper on the Leaf Village war effort.

However, one of the surviving members of the Uzumaki clan, Kushina Uzumaki was able to escape the fate of the rest of her people and found her way to Konoha. There she enrolled into the ninja academy and met somebody who would change her destiny.

Mito Uzumaki was the widowed wife of the First Hokage. The marriage helped reinforce the relations between the Senju clan and their distant relatives, the Uzumaki. Maybe most importantly however, was the fact that she was the first host to the Kyuubi no Kitsune. After the First's battle with Madara Uchiha at the battle of the end, she used her exceptional kill in fuuinjutsu and sealed the beast into herself. She became the first ever host of the terrible demon. Fast forward several decades, in the waning years of her life, she was forced to choose the next host of the fox, lest the beast escape and reek more havoc.

That choice was Kushina Uzumaki. With her unnaturally potent chakra, even for an Uzumaki, she was the logical choice. Thus, the greatest of the tailed beasts was ripped out of the elder Uzumaki and sealed into her kin.

As this occurred, the Third Shinobi War kept on raging. Even legends such as Sakumo Hatake were not left untouched and even they were felled by the war, and each day Iwa came closer and closer to Konoha.

That is, until Minato Namikaze changed the tide of the war. Using his special brand of space-time ninjutsu, he changed the entire course of the war. He gained the nickname, the Yellow Flash, and Iwa even gave him a flee on sight order for all of her shinobi. He would eventually go on to become the Yondaime Hokage and was generally regarded as one of the most powerful shinobi produced by the Leaf Village.

Eventually, the Third Shinobi War ended and the people of Konoha thought peace would finally be at hand. They were wrong.

As Kushina, the former host of the Kyuubi no Kitune gave birth to her son, the seal weakened, and the demon escaped its imprisonment aided by a mysterious masked man. The fox then proceeded to lay waste to Konoha.

The fox was eventually defeated and sealed again, but at a terrible cost. Dozens of shinobi lay dead, and worst of all, the Yondaime Hokage was among them.

The Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi once again took the title of Hokage, and he attempted to rebuild the Leaf Village and her forces. It was a long process that would take many years, but Konoha was well on her way. The only problem was the perpetual headache that was the current host of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. While he may look like his father, his personality was all Kushina.

"Get back here you dammed brat" the voice of a random chunin rang out, echoing throughout the air as he and a group of shinobi chased a orange jumpsuit wearing blond haired boy through the rooftops. He was pissed off and the worst part was that he was upset at himself. Here he was, a proud chunin of Konoha, and he couldn't catch a five year old kid.

"Catch me if you can suckers" said blond brat responded back, tossing a couple of balls behind him, which promptly exploded, sending pink paint directly at the chasing shinobi.

With wide eyes, the ninja were hit by the paint and several tripped as their feet hit the wet building surface.

The yells of "UZUMAKI" could be heard throughout the entire village.

"Damn" the kid said as he felt the pressure associated with killer intent focus on him. "Maybe I shouldn't have made them mad." He mused and unconsciously and unknowingly sent some chakra through his legs and accelerated slightly. In his haste to escape his chasers, he jumped over a fence that led to a highly dangerous part of the Leaf Village.

Less than a minute after he had jumped the fence, the contingent of ninja arrived.

"Where did he go?" The same chunin said, gritting his teeth as he felt pink paint drip down his hair. "Not even Uzumaki would be stupid enough to enter the Forest of Death."

"Let's go report back to the Hokage" A kunoichi wearing the standard chunin said. "I still don't know how the brat is so evasive" she added with grudging respect.

Little did they know that indeed, Naruto Uzumaki had entered the Forest of Death, the training area that gave even jonin trouble.

Naruto panted as he slumped at the base of a huge tree that towered overhead, blocking the very sky. He had been running for over thirty minutes and he no longer heard anyone chasing him so he assumed he was safe. As he regained his normal breathing pattern, he gave a chuckle. Painting the Hokage monument was so worth it.

A deep, guttural growl broke the blond out of his mental congratulations. As he heard the sound, he felt his back stiffen and a shiver run through her spine. The primal feeling of fear that had kept humans alive for thousands of years ran throughout his body.

Stiffly turning in the direction of the growl, Naruto felt his eyes widen as he saw the source. It was a huge tiger, over two and a half meters tall and well over three meters long. It was truly a monstrous beast that belonged in the Forest of Death. Before he could react, the tiger leapt at him, jaws bared and teeth glistening with saliva. It was the predator and he was the prey.

Time seemed to slow for Naruto as he felt his eyes widen and his heart almost stop. He felt the cold embrace of death prepare to surround him. Before it even reached the point, he felt the tigers teeth sink into his flesh and begin to tear him apart. He was frozen in fear.

It was a little known fact that animals in the forest of death could project truly fearsome killer intent. What made it so powerful wasn't the amount of chakra, or bloodlust, but the certainty of the kill. A predator doesn't doubt their ability to kill their prey. A ninja, no matter how skilled always possesses the subconscious doubt of whether or not they will walk away from the battle. This certainty of the kill is what made their killer intent so fearsome. In this situation, the creature's lack of sapience worked for it.

Naruto felt his life flash before his eyes as he fell under the spell of the killer intent. The cold looks most of the civilians gave him when he made himself known. The indifference the shinobi showed him most of the time. He was invisible to them all, unseen and unneeded. It was why he played pranks, to be the focus of somebody's attention was something he always wanted. While the thrill of the chase was indeed fun, the fact that people were paying attention to him was incredible. For an orphan, even if it was negative attention, it still meant the world to him.

It was also why he strode to become Hokage. He saw the looks the old man was given by everyone. The thing that attracted the title to him wasn't the power that he commanded, the authority that Sarutobi possessed, or even the respect given to him. It was the fact that people needed him. People needed the Hokage, and they never tried to deny the fact. It was the ultimate dream of the blond, to be needed to somebody. To be a person that somebody could live for, for someone who always felt invisible, being the center of somebody's universe was everything that he could ever dream for and indeed, he did dream of it. Right now however, it seemed that goal might never come to fruition.

When faced with death, curious bodily functions take place. In normal people, adrenaline is flooded into the body, and the "fight or flight" reaction takes place. This reaction in many ways eliminates the bodies' self-imposed limitations it inflicts upon itself. It is because of this that the occasional civilian was able to best a shinobi.

In shinobi however, the flight or fight response was vastly different for one main reason, chakra. As adrenaline floods through the body, it affects the chakra system itself. In many ways chakra was still a force that was a mystery. Even for those who prided themselves in their knowledge of chakra, much still remained unknown. What was known however was that as the hormone was pumped through the body by the adrenal glands, chakra began to flow more rapidly throughout the chakra circulatory system. This is the process behind the unlocking of so many kekkei genkai.

The accelerating of the chakra system is the catalyst of the kekkei genkai. It isn't really known why, but somehow the rapid acceleration of chakra within the body spurs the body to make sudden changes and activate genes that were dormant until the current time. This was another reason children rarely unlocked kekkei genkai. With too little chakra, they catalyst was simply too weak and the activation never takes place.

As the tiger approached the cowering Uzumaki, this very process was taking place. In his fear, his body was rapidly pumping out hormones and his chakra system sped up. Luckily for the blond, he had been gifted with exceptional high chakra reserves. Because of this high level of chakra, he was able to reach the activation level required to activate long dormant genes in his body. The Uzumaki clan was distant relatives of the Senju clan, who were themselves direct decedents of the youngest son of the Sage of the Six Paths. Thus the relation, no matter how distant, connected the Uzumaki clan with the Six Paths Sage.

As the tiger neared the blond and got ready to take a bite out of the blond, he stiffened. Naruto felt a wave of…well, something flow through him. He felt his mind become overcome with a fog that anything from being unpleasant. He felt his fears ease and his pains and problems with the world cease to become important. He relished the feeling, and embraced it.

Little did the blond know, his eyes had changed from their vibrant blue, to a cold light purple, grayish color with a ripple-like pattern.

With a cold glare at the incoming predator, he raised his hands and declared his response.

"Shinra Tensei"

The world was bathed in an explosion.

**Hehe, Naruto with the Rinnegan...oh the possibilities... What do ya'll think, any good? Please give some feedback **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter II : The Rinnegan**

**Woot, chapter II here we go! So many ideas for this story…the Rinnegan is awesome.**

**The UberSuperGodlikeNaruto wankfest won't happen (hopefully) He will be strong, no doubt about that, but he won't be able to pwn Madara at six years old or something like that. On the other hand, he will not be like canon Naruto. I'm sorry if you don't like that, but I cannot write canon Naruto. He's just so obnoxious and stupid…yeah, just doesn't work for me. Anyway, on to chapter 2!**

The Sage of the Six Paths was a legend to most in the shinobi world. Known for being the creator of ninjutsu, he was regarded akin to a god. In fact, with his legendary skill and power, he was the first to ever be crowned as the Shinobi no Kami. To anyone else he was as good as god, a true force of nature. An immovable object of pure power. His eyes, known for their extreme power, were coveted in the shinobi world both during and after his lifetime.

Long before even the time of the warring clans, the Sage entered the world. His origins were unknown, some say he was born of royal heritage, and others say he was the offspring of a modest farmed. Still others saw him as a being from heaven, sent down in divine intervention. Where ever his roots lied, he would change the course of history.

He was the first to discover the energy source inside of him, and the first to tame it. A visionary in the true sense of the word, the Sage grew in power until he reached a level no one thought possible.

As he appeared, the world naturally created a balancing agent to the Sage. The Jubi, or Ten Tailed Beast, a mighty demon, appeared in the world. The Jubi's chakra alone could bring despair to the entire world and all hope seemed lost.

Until the Sage arrived anyway, the powerful man sealed the best into himself, saving the world from the beats power. He became the first jinchuriki.

He had two sons and on his deathbed, he named the younger one his heir. In a fit of rage, the older son attacked the younger, thus beginning a feud that would last centuries.

Finally, in his last days of life, even as his body grew weaker and weaker, the Sage found the power to unseal the Jubi and separate it into nine parts, so the terrible Ten Tailed Beast would never terrorize the world again. Then, sacrificing his dwindling life-force, he used one of his ultimate jutsu, and created the moon out of the Jubi's body.

The most powerful shinobi to ever exist was dead. The creator of ninjutsu was dead. The father of all shinobi was dead. The Sage of the Six Paths had finally perished.

His eyes however, would live on forever in the mythos of the world. They would return periodically to save the world, wielded by the harbinger of change.

Inside the office which was itself inside the Hokage Residence sat Hiruzen Sarutobi, learning back in his chair, taking a deep breath of his pipe.

The office was quite large and comfortable, and it was situated in the public part of the Hokage Residence, which really was a misnomer, while there were facilities for the Hokage to live, the building served more as an administrative center than a private residence. All of the previous Hokage's had their own private residence they preferred to live. After all, living there gave almost no privacy and in times of way it was unwise to advertise your location so openly.

In the end, the building served its role very well. It was the nervous center of the Konoha. All administrative duties were process through the building and it allowed the Hokage and his advisers to meet easily.

Anyway, we are getting off topic; the main focus in the room was the old man silently smoking his pipe. To the untrained eye, he seemed like any other old man, and unthreatening as any. His face was full of wrinkles and liver spots, and he possessed an air of wisdom.

Of course, those untrained eyes were ones likely to get gouged out in the most painful and horrific way possible. He was no ordinary old man that was to be sure. Hiruzen Sarutobi was known as the Shinobi no Kami for a reason. He was possibly the most powerful shinobi every produced by Konoha in her illustrious history. In his prime, he was able to easily take on, and defeat all three of his students, also known as the legendary Sannin head on and come out victorious. The name Hiruzen Sarutobi was synonymous with death, and even in his advanced age, he commanded tremendous respect. While time may have taken a tole on his skills, he was still an extremely dangerous person and one who deserved the position of Hokage.

He was the student of his predecessors, Hashirama and Tobiama Senju and was born of quite a shinobi perigee of the Sarutobi clan himself. Under the founders of Konoha, he learned the skills that would make him nigh invincible.

Right now, said powerful, wise old man was smoking like he would die the next day and counting to one hundred. He reason for his headache, the blond child who had just pulled a rather obnoxious prank.

He appreciated a good prank; he didn't think he could have survived the reign of Kushina if he didn't. While a serious and deadly kunoichi, one he and his late wife had immense respect for, she also had a playful streak that game through in her son. It was the after effects of said son's pranks that gave the aging kage a headache.

Defacing the monument was something he could live with, the blond had done it before as well, and even chuckle at while he was alone. The ensuing chase that left a trail of destruction on the other hand, was another matter entirely. The worst part was the fact that most of the damage was done by how own damned shinobi. A force of over a dozen chunin had chased the blond all over the village and had fallen for the boy's pranks. It was inexcusable.

After the paint ball ambush, as the ANBU called it, snickering along the way, several shinobi had fallen off the rooftops, tumbling down into merchant stands. It had destroyed several thousand ryo's worth of goods, which while not that much, was enough to annoy him.

The report he had been given by the pink shinobi almost made him assign D rank missions for them all indefinitely. Getting outsmarted and our maneuvered by a five year old, it was not something that could be tolerated. Granted, Naruto Uzumaki wasn't exactly normal five year old, his stamina alone was beyond that of most chunin in simple linear routes, so he supposed he could excuse that particular fact. The unforgivable sin was falling prey to the traps and taunts by the young Uzumaki. Were they shinobi or school children? The kids now days always seemed more focused on the flashy jutsu rather than getting things done.

It was that kind of foolishness and stupidity that was likely to get comrades killed in any sort of combat. If you can't see through traps laid by a child, how can one trust somebody in battle? Oh, he would make sure those chunin got a crash course in the way a shinobi should act. He was sure Anko would love to run through some drills with the incompetent shinobi.

_'I'm too old for this'_ he thought, gruffly, taking one last deep whiff of his pipe and setting it down on his desk and learning back on his chair. "Biwako" he muttered softly, the image of his deceased wife flooding his mind as he rubbed the bridge of his nose_. 'How I wish you were still with me' _he mused wistfully. _'You always knew what to say that would brighten my day. Ha, look at me, sulking, you would kick my ass if you could see me like this wouldn't you?'_ he finally thought with a shudder. His wife was truly a fearsome person. One would expect nothing less from the student of Mito Uzumaki.

As the old Hokage began to settle down into his chair and relax a bit, a huge explosion of chakra rang across his senses from the area of the Forest of Death.

Taking a few milliseconds to register the sensation, Hiruzen jumped into action. "Squad five, secure the building" he ordered a team of ANBU he knew were in the room with him. "Squad seven and eleven, you're with me. The chakra discharge originated from the Forest of Death. Owl, raise village alarm to code yellow and alert Homura, Koharu, and Danzo." With the orders given, Hiruzen sent out a concentrated blast of chakra and shattered the glass behind him that overlooked the village. Without looking back, he jumped out the window and hurried to the source of the explosion, feeling the presence of the ANBU squads behind him.

_'That chakra' _Hiruzen thought, narrowing his eyes as he sped through the rooftops of buildings, nothing but a blur to the casual observer. _'It seems familiar, but I can't place it. Such intensity…who could it be?' _He was confused and worried. He prided himself with knowing the chakra of any significant shinobi in Konoha, the chakra he felt wasn't like any that he could recognize. _'Could a foreign shinobi have penetrated the barrier?' _hequestioned himself. It would be a disaster if that happened. Who knew the damage that could occur if enemy forces entered the area. Plus, it would also force him to reevaluate security measures.

With that disturbing thought, he fed more chakra into his legs, exploding forward in a flash of air pressure, leaving the ANBU trailing behind him. While it was against normal protocol for him to do so, he needed to reach the possible threat before they had a chance to cause any damage.

Arriving at the Forest's gates, he pursed his lips and jumped over the imposing gate. The chakra could almost be tasted, and it hung in the air like a poison. It felt heavy and Sarutobi didn't like the feeling it suggested. There weren't many people who could transform chakra into such a physical weight and many of them were older, and extremely powerful.

Stretching his senses to their maximum he kept along the forest in the direction the chakra pulse was at. While he wasn't a sensor type, his experience as a shinobi allowed him to detect any large gatherings of chakra in preparation of an ambush. It was a skill honed on the battlefield, and it was a skill that couldn't be understated.

As he reached the source, he felt his eyes widen. The area ahead of him was destroyed. Trees, hundreds of feet high were ripped from the ground. Blood and gore painting the rubble and bones stuck out of the behemoth trees.

_ 'What the hell?' _he thought in silent horror, taking in the scenes of destruction. Cautiously, he swept his gaze across the destruction before his eyes caught something out of place.

A young boy, no older than five was sitting at the base of a tree, eyes downcast.

_'Impossible' _Hiruzen thought, eyes widening as he caught sight of the figure. _'Is Naruto responsible for the explosion…did the seal break?_

Slowly, the aging kage took a step towards the child, mind racing as he ran through scenarios.

_'If the Kyuubi no Kitsune is able to influence the boy, I don't know if I can seal it back up.'_ He thought grimly. While mildly talented in fuuinjutsu, he had nowhere near the experience and skill needed to contain even a small amount of demonic chakra. The Sarutobi clan was never one skilled in that area of the ninja art. Once more he wished his wife was with him. While she wasn't taught any of the secret Uzumaki fuuinjutsu, she still was taught be a true master and knew much about the field.

With a quick hand signal, he instructed the ANBU hiding in the shadows around him who had just caught up to standby. If the fox had indeed escaped, they would be the first line of defense.

"Naruto" Hiruzen called gently to the child, trying to sound as soothingly as possible. "is that you?" As he neared the child and focused on him, he felt his breath hitch slightly as he saw the condition the boy was in.

He was covered on blood and bits of organs. His hair was stained red and his jumpsuit was a similar color with bits of orange fur mixed around.

'_What happened to you?'_ he thought, shuddering slightly at the amount of blood covering the child. Someone so young should never be exposed to such things. It would probably scar the young man for the rest of his life.

As he came within a couple of feet of the unmoving blond, suddenly without warning, Naruto's head snapped up and he stared at Sarutobi eye to eye.

Gentle brown met cold ripples. The Shinobi no Kami saw the very eyes of the only other being granted the title of god in their life.

The Rinnegan, the legendary dojutsu of the Six Paths Sage.

"Impossible" Hiruzen breathed out in shock.

**So, what do ya think?**

**The Rinnegan focused Naruto's chakra, giving it its 'heavy' feel.  
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	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter III : Uzumaki Blood**

**Woot, chapter III here we go! So many ideas for this, hehe**

**Things are starting to change. The Uzumaki clan is a blank slate, so I can play with some ideas here. I love creating ideas that never have been created before. (as far as I know) I made the Uzumaki really important in this story, but come on; the Senju incorporated the Uzumaki swirl into their uniform design, that alone should speak about their importance in canon Naruto.**

**Sorry if you find my chapters too short, I just find it easier to work with 2-3k word chapters over 6-7k word ones. This will be the last chapter for a little bit, I want to enjoy the holidays**

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. They reflect the inner being of a person, and they can give away their will and determination. For shinobi, this is especially true.

For a veteran of numerous wars like Hiruzen Sarutobi, when he showcased them, his eyes were as cold and frightening as any. They conveyed and aura of death, the certainty of death that not many could achieve. They were eyes of a man who had seen everything and lived through it. They eyes of a cold blooded killer.

Right now, those cold, terrible eyes were steeled, gazing at another pair of cold eyes staring back at him.

It was perhaps the most powerful effect of a doujutsu, the ability to hide the inner self of a person normally reflected in their eyes. An effect that not many realized.

Hiruzen was such an accomplished shinobi that he could normally write an entire report about a person from just a glance in the eye. Most elite could tell of a person was telling the truth or a lie, but for those experts in reading people like him, well they could read entire personalities. He could determine ones loves, their loyalty, and even what haunted their nightmares by just eye contact.

As such, he was more than frustrated by the total lack of read he was able to get on the ringed eyes staring back at him.

'_There is no doubt about it.' _He thought grimly, resisting the overwhelming urge to look away. '_Those eyes, that chakra, it is the Rinnegan. Just as __Hashirama-sensei described them. This oppressive feeling from a mere child…the Sage of the Six Paths must have been truly fearsome.'_

This was not something he expected to happen, ever in his lifetime. As his sensei was the head of the Senju clan and as such, knew much about the clans founding. After he saw his clan numbers get demolished by the wars, he passed down those tales to his student, Hiruzen.

The Sage had gifted his older son with his 'eyes', or his spiritual chakra, and in his younger son he gifted his 'body', or physical chakra. Those two brothers were the ancestors of the Senju and Uchiha clans. The Sage's 'body' would go on to produce a clan of shinobi that would become unrivaled in their ability to use all aspect of the shinobi arts. His eyes on the other hand would on to create the infamous Sharingan, a powerful doujutsu feared throughout the world. But there was a third family that inherited power from the Sage.

It was thought that the Uzumaki were a sort of branch family of the Senju clan. It was an incorrect assumption.

It was in the Uzumaki clan that the blood and chakra of the Sage of the Six Paths ran the strongest. In the early days of the Senju clan, the most powerful members had broken off, and formed their own family. They would become legendary and for good reason.

It was why all Konoha flak jackets had the Uzumaki swirl in the shoulder. The Senju had incorporated it into the design in order to honor their sister family.

In the Uzumaki clan ran the blood of the Sage, and in Naruto it seemed, ran the strongest of Uzumaki blood.

'_We were so sure he took after his father…' _he mused to himself, mind furiously thinking over possibilities.

It was a little known fact to civilians that children born to two shinobi generally only tended to take after one of the parents. Whether it be elemental natures, or even kekkei genkai, there was generally only shinobi related traits from one parent in their children. It was because as a child was born, the chakra from both parents fought with each other to create the new chakra coils. Once the battle was completed, the chakra what won would create the coils and the child would take after that parent.

It was this reason kekkei genkai families almost always married into their own clan. With the child having a chance of taking in the traits of either parent, by having both parents with similar abilities, they could breed a child that would likewise, have natural abilities like theirs.

This is what it was meant when it was said that the previous generation would always be stronger than the last. The youngest shinobi would able to learn from the similar experience their parents had in controlling their powers, cutting down on learning time which gave more time to grow ever stronger and learn new things.

All this time he and his advisors had assumed that young Naruto had taken after the man he looked like, his father. This changed everything; for both the boy and for Konoha.

'_If he has truly inherited the abilities of the Uzumaki, things have to change.' _He thought, narrowing his eyes slightly.

The Uzumaki had always been the greatest of allies of Konoha and their sealing abilities were what created the barrier around the village. The reason they were unable to change the barrier matrix after Orochimaru had defected was simply because there were no Uzumaki around to adjust the fuuinjutsu. It left a glaring gap in their defenses that he simply didn't think could ever get fixed. That was, until now. The barrier jutsu, and all the other seals that had been weakened over the years that were built by the Uzumaki could be reinforced. This would allow him to take valuable ANBU from the interior, where he had to increasingly send out patrols with the weakening seals making it possible for infiltration, and use them for their intended purpose.

From his looks, it was determined that he would have gained his abilities from his father, the formidable shinobi known as Minato Namikaze. They had been planning to leave him to work through the academy like his father had, letting him learn his own style and find himself as a shinobi. Now on the other hand, with so many things he was able to contribute, that agenda had changed.

What many didn't realize was that the Uzumaki fuuinjutsu was more than just an affinity for the art. Their chakra itself was uniquely suited for creating extremely powerful seals, seals on a whole other level from anything else. In actuality, it was because of this that the loss of the Uzumaki clan was such a hard hit for Konoha. With the war raging, they were left exposed to saboteurs who slowly weakened the powerful defensive seals around the village. While they were still present and indeed more powerful than any other village, they were greatly weakened.

With a quick application of chakra, Hiruzen pressed a seal under his desk, calling his advisors to his office. They were the people he trusted most, and also the people who knew most about the Uzumaki clan.

While not his prize student like he was, Homura and Koharu both learned under of the First like he had, and had his confidence. Likewise, Danzo, the main competitor of the Hokage position with Hiruzen, knew much about the Senju clan and the true strength and influence of the Uzumaki clan.

_'He will need a teacher'_ he mused, his eyes finally softening slightly as he took in the sight of the shivering blond, blanket wrapped around him and ringed eyes darting back and forth. His eyes may have held coldness like Hiruzen had never seen before, but he still was the young blond at heart. That was a good thing. '_The problem will be finding the right one.'_

Before he could think anymore, a sharp knock on the door signaled the entrance of his advisors.

"Homura, Koharu, Danzo. Welcome, please sit down." Hiruzen said pleasantly with a small smile aimed at his friends and colleagues.

"Hiruzen" they all replied with a slight bow. The main gestures however were glances at the blond in the room, glances Hiruzen didn't miss.

"Young Naruto here" he said, waving his hand at the blond. "Had quite an accident in the Forest of Death earlier today. He seems to have activated a doujutsu."

A slight widening of their eyes was all their reaction to their news. Even that was quite an achievement; they were all veteran ninja, getting such reaction was quite impressive. They all knew the significance of the ringed eyes. They were old and they remembered the stories of times long past.

"Uzumaki looks a bit…unsettled." Danzo, an old man who walked with a cane and had his right eye and arm wrapped in bandages remarked bluntly. Despite his crippled appearance, he still was a formidable man who was only matched by the man across him, his friend and rival.

"Yes, he does." Hiruzen replied, stroking his beard and mentally thanking Danzo for giving him a reason to dismiss the child and talk to his advisors alone. "Neko" he said, talking to a corner of the room, bathed in darkness.

"Hokage-sama" a voice of a female figure with purple hair spoke up, appearing out of the shadows, causing Naruto to yelp and fall out of his seat in surprise.

"Please take young Naruto to ANBU headquarters. Clean him up a bit…the blood must be getting uncomfortable."

"Yes Hokage-sama" the purple haired women replied without hesitation and catching the hidden meaning behind the words. '_Clean him up and keep him safe.' _Gripping the boy's shoulders, the pair disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Hiruzen gave a nod of his head at the action. That was the way true shinobi acted while on duty, calm and professional. Neko was one of his best, a true representation of Leaf ninja.

"So that was Yugao Uzuki?" Danzo stated more than asked, feeling out the faint trail of chakra left behind by the teleportation jutsu. "I've heard quite a bit about her, ANBU at 14, quite impressive."

"Yes" Hiruzen replied with a small smile. "She graduated at nine, chunin by eleven and just this year promoted to the ANBU corps. She is quite skilled."

"That doesn't matter right now." Koharu cut in, breaking up the verbal spar she knew would take place. It always happened when Sarutobi and Danzo got together; they couldn't help but compare their ANBU troops under their command. "I believe we were here to talk about the Uzumaki."

"Correct" Hiruzen spoke, his face losing the mirthful expression. "You saw his eyes, there is no doubt, it is the Rinnegan. We have miscalculated."

Homura, an elderly man with square glasses spoke up next in a whisper. "We were so sure." He said, his brows down in thought. "How could we have missed the distinctive Uzumaki chakra?"

"I do not know." Hiruzen replied gruffly. "But we need to figure out what to do next."

"We will need to find a teacher obviously" Danzo spoke up, bringing the obvious up. "The question is, who. We have in our possession the Uzumaki clan scrolls and as an Uzumaki, he should be able to naturally pick up the art from there. But we will need someone to guide him through other area of a shinobi, Konoha shinobi."

"It is without a doubt then?" Hiruzen questioned, looking at the three. "He will be trained early?"

"Of course" Danzo said, snorting at the ridiculous notion of not training the blond. "You know as well as I do that the barrier is vulnerable. Orochimaru knew every aspect of the fuuinjutsu to enter without being seen, it is a huge risk. A fully trained Uzumaki clan member would be able to alter the barrier and strengthen the other seals around the village. For the first time in twenty years Konoha would be save from outside threat. The four dozen ANBU squads constantly on patrol through the perimeter could be reassigned to more helpful positions. This would then allow them to take on missions that have been getting our young Jonin killed so often during the last several years. Our military will finally be able to build up instead of remaining at a stagnant level."

"But then you knew that Hiruzen didn't you?" Homura said, eyes studying the Third Hokage with slightly narrowed eyes. "There is a reason you sent Yugao Uzuki to watch over the Uzumaki isn't there? I believe you also have a teacher in mind as well."

"Yugao will be a good companion for Naruto" Hiruzen said, his meaning clear. "If they get along perhaps it can be made a more permanent arrangement. "

"So that's what your planning" Koharu said with sly smirk on her face as she shook her head slightly. "You devious old monkey. Don't you feel bad about playing with their emotions like that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about Koharu" Hiruzen said, with a look of confusion. It would have fooled most people, but he was with three shinobi who had known him for over fifty years. "Naruto merely will need a capable caretaker to reach his full potential. As Danzo points out, the gains far outweigh the expenditure of resources the undertaking will take. A single ANBU will be able to be spared."

"Enough of this" Danzo spat out in annoyance as he rolled his eye. "I didn't come here so you two could flirt around the issue. Tell me Sarutobi, who do you have mind for teaching the boy? We all know that the plan was for Jirayia to take the boy later on, but that obviously won't work now. He is busy doing god knows what and is unsuited to teaching the boy."

"True" Hiruzen agreed with a small nod of his head. "Jirayia isn't suited to teaching him. His chakra is rather suited to the Shadow Clone jutsu I believe. If he can correctly use the jutsu like I think he can, he can learn a tremendous amount of information."

"Are you suggesting what I think you are Hiruzen?" Homura said in shock, his eyes flying open in shock.

"I have always wanted to pass down my skills to the next generation" Hiruzen mused wistfully, choosing to ignore the question posed by his teammate. "I tried once with Orochimaru and you know how that turned out. But perhaps this will end up better, after all, who else better to teach than an Uzumaki. It also seems fitting as well doesn't it…I bet sensei would agree. "

It was agreed, Homura, Koharu, and Danzo would all help alleviate the workload Hiruzen was under and he would teach the boy. Once again the name Uzumaki would be feared throughout the nations. Perhaps he would even gain the title his ancestor and his teacher had held the title of God in the shinobi world.

**And End! How was it, what do ya think? The Third is teaching Naruto because of how important the Uzumaki clan is to internal security in Konoha. Frankly, the Uzumaki's natural gifts are incredible and they all know it would be a monumental waste to not take advantage of them. Also, the Third really wants somebody to pass his skills down to. Orochimaru ended up badly, and not leaving someone to carry on a legacy in the shinobi world is like being forgotten by history. I sort of made up the whole, child take after only one parent thing, but hey, it's my story right? Anyway, I like to think this story is different from any other one out there, I hope you enjoy. **


	4. Chapter 4

4

Chapter IV: The Future

And yes, chapter four is rolling out. Sorry this took so long; things have been crazy for me. But that's life isn't it? I am retooling this story, well a lot.

**NOTICE! :**I have decided to do a radical change in my intended storyline and type of story this will be, so it won't have much to do with Naruto anymore. Sorry, its just one of those screwy things I have a tendency to do. I was going to do a completely Naruto verse story, but frankly the Naruto verse is getting a bit stale for me and I just can't think of anything that hasn't been done before.

I-I

The ANBU were the elite of the elite of the Hidden Leaf Village. When a black-ops mission had to be done, they were called. When heavy hitters were required, they were called. Konoha's ANBU comprised of seventy seven squads, all with their own captains. These squads were part of ten divisions, once again with their own captain and then those divisions all answered to the Commander of the corps who in turn took orders directly from the Hokage.

The current Commander was something of a mystery, first sworn in during the waning days of the Second Shinobi War, he was never seen in public and even his subordinate were unaware of his identity. While his identity wasn't known, there was no doubt he was powerful.

What was known however, was the Commands adjunct and the commander of division number one. What was truly surprising was the fact that he just a child of barley thirteen years. While Itachi Uchiha was renowned for gaining the title of ANBU captain at this age, the child in question had taken and record and then taken a step higher.

He was Naruto Uzumaki, container of the Kyuubi no Kitune, student of the Third Hokage, holder of the legendary Rinnegan, son of the Fourth Hokage, and heir of the Uzumaki clan.

He was the hidden ace of Konoha. Being the captain of the first division, he was responsible for internal security and also was the only one who truly knew the scope and capabilities of the village sealing arrays and how they worked. He was a fuinjutsu master of the Uzumaki clan, a dangerous foe no matter who he faced. A carefully guarded secret of the Leaf.

He was also one of the most powerful people in the village as well. He was taught by the Third Hokage, a man known as the Kami no Shinobi after all. It was only that man who had a change to defeat him. It was actually a good side effect of Sarutobi training him. The aging Hokage had gotten complacent and let his training slip. To put it shortly, he was a shadow compared to his former glory. Once he was forced to spar with someone who had inherited such powerful eyes, he realized how out of shape he was and took steps to rectify it. Now he was back to the form he was in during the Third Shinobi war and he had no intention of letting himself slip again. If the Tsuchikage, a man older than he, could stay so powerful, he could as well.

Even with all his skill however, he still had difficultly while fighting the powerful blond. And said blond was growing stronger.

Secretly, Hiruzen Sarutobi expected to be surpassed within the next three years.

Naruto truly lived up to the name Uzumaki.

"Captain" A female voice spoke up as she burst into his small office. "The sensor division has detected a large chakra signature approaching the village. They have managed to bypass the outer array and while the sensors can't get a good read of it, but they have determined it to be at least A-rank.

Said captain, a blond with brilliant blue eyes that happened to be narrowed slightly gave a nod to his subordinate.

"I can feel it now" he said, as he reached out his senses. "The outer array hasn't changed over the last few years since it wasn't deemed a priority; even so, to be skilled enough to bypass them is something. Neko, put squads one through five on standby and alert the Hokage. I will confront them myself, something doesn't feel right."

With a quick salute, the purple haired female wearing the Neko masked flickered out of the room, followed shortly by her boss who went in the opposite direction where he could feel the disturbance as he slipped in his blank ANBU mask.

_ 'This doesn't feel right' _The boy thought as he zipped past the buildings and vaulted over the great gate that surrounded the village as he began to run through the trees as an incredible pace. '_So close to the Chunin exams as well, this can't be a coincidence.'_

The blond began to slow down as he neared the source of chakra and proceeded carefully.

Only to be met with a kunai that went right through his forehead and exploded through the back of his head, sending blood and brain matter through the area.

Or…maybe not. Naruto's body turned to brown mud as it slowly began to crumble away.

"Kukuku" a sinister, disturbing voice rang out through the trees. "I see the ANBU haven't been slacking off while I've been gone." The source of the voice was a pale slender man with long black hair and yellow eyes. He was standing in an open area, hands at his eyes and appearing unworried.

"That is correct." Naruto's voice from behind the pale man said in his ear. The man felt his eyes widen in shock as a sword struck his heart.

Only to turn into Earth as well, but before the first pieces of earth fell to the ground, Naruto was gone.

Further away in the tree-line, the pale man gave a wince of pain as he felt blood flow down his back.

_'Who the hell is that?'_ He wondered in shock. '_Kabuto hasn't notified me of anyone near that level. Such speed, I barely managed to stay alive. To think, I, one of the Sannin was almost killed so easily. This is no ordinary ninja.'_

"You're right, I am no ordinary shinobi, Orochimaru" Naruto's voice rang out, echoing throughout the forest, making it impossible to pinpoint.

'_What the…can he read my mind?' _ The man, Orochimaru thought, shaken as he looked around, trying to pinpoint the location of the voice.

"Yes I can" was all he heard before a fist of wind chakra went right through his head.

Orochimaru wasn't known as the snake sannin for nothing however, and his body burst into tiny garter snakes that slithered away.

_'There is no doubt about it, that voice, it is just a boy. How can he be this strong?' _ The snake sannin thought as he panted a bit. Such huge expenditures of chakra were taxing him. When he switched bodies using his immortality jutsu, he was forced to cope with the chakra reserves of the body he was possessing. _'I didn't think I would have to use this.' _ He thought as he jumped back onto an empty clearing as he went through hand-signs. _'So much for saving this for Sarutobi-sensei."_

"Edo Tensei" he yelled out as he slammed his hands onto the ground and smirked as two coffins rose out of the ground.

What he didn't expect was to see his opponent jump about a hundred meters in front of him and radiant killer intent like he had never felt before.

"You dare" the figure whispered softly, but the white snake could hear it like it was said in his ear. "You dare tarnish the name Hokage. I will kill you!" he yelled out, unleashing his chakra, causing wind to whip through the air and the ground to crumble.

'_This power!' _Orochimaru thought, eyes widening. With a quick movement of his hands, he tore off the cover of the coffins and stuck a kunai filled with seals into their heads.

"Kill him!" he yelled at the two men who walked out of the coffins like zombies. One wore red armor and had long black hair. The other was almost the opposite, wearing blue armor with short white hair. They were the Senju brothers, the First and Second Hokage of Konoha.

"This vile jutsu." The second figure, the one in blue said with what sounded like annoyance in his voice.

"It seems so" the first replied with a scowl. "I remember telling you nothing but trouble would come with this jutsu. It should never have been recorded."

"Sorry brother." The blue clad figure said with a shrug. "I thought the old monkey would protect it better."

"Enough of this" Orochimaru hissed. "Kill him!" he yelled as he pointed towards the ANBU in front of him who was glaring at the three figures.

"Such impatience" the First said with a frown as he looked towards his adversary. "You are a Konoha ANBU eh?" he stated more than asked.

"Yes" Naruto replied, giving the two figures a slight bow. "I apologize for what I must do Lord Hokages."

"You're but a child" The Second said with something akin to horror as he and his brother advanced towards the boy. "We should be the ones sorry for this young man."

Beneath his mask, Naruto gave an angry smile, at least they would forgive him. To see such men desecrated like this, it disgusted him. He knew what had to be done.

Before anyone could move, two versions of Naruto appeared in front of the men and put their hands on their shoulders. With a mental tug, these clones, using the powers of Naraka Path, sucked out the souls of the two Hokages.

Naruto could only avert his eyes as the bodies of the great men crumbled into dust.

"Impossible" the sannin yelled in horror.

"Nothing is impossible with these eyes." Naruto intoned softly as he met the eyes of the serpent sannin for the first time in the battle.

When said sannin saw the eyes, he froze in shock and horror. '_Those eyes…the Rinnegan!'_

"I see you recognize them" Naruto said. "These are the eyes of the sage of the six paths. With them, everything unfurls before my vision. I have knowledge of every forbidden jutsu of the Leaf Village, your version of Edo Tensei is far inferior to that of the Second's."

Now Orochimaru wanted to flee, every fiber in his body was demanding retreat. However, his body wasn't responding to his brain. To make things even worse, he couldn't even use his chakra.

"Fuinjutsu is so useful" Naruto commented as he walked slowly to the struggling snake sannin. "And you are a predictable shinobi. The Third has told me all about you and your team-mates tendency to flee to open ground for battle. It was child's play to lay down immobilizing seals while you were in the tree line."

'_He planned this out from the start? _Orochimaru asked himself with shock. _'This level of planning should be beyond even that of a Nara. There is no possible way he should have been able to know it was me with my altered chakra signature…he actually formulated this plan in minutes during combat."_

Closing the distance with measured steps, Naruto held out his hand and gathered chakra as well as wind chakra to his palm. He was using the ultimate form of shape manipulation and elemental manipulation. The chakra rotated around his palm, forming a ball, and the wind chakra began to encircle that ball, forming a four point shuriken.

"This is my Rasenshuriken" Naruto said, seeing the fear in the sannin's eyes and relishing it. "It is the ultimate combination of pure shape and elemental manipulation. Its destructive perimeter is well over ten meters. It will be your death."

Stopping about twenty meters from his target, he simply threw his jutsu towards the immobilized man.

As it made contact with the sannin, it expanded and Orochimaru was encompassed in a sphere of destructive energy. The blades of wind attacked at the cellular level, and when it finally died down, there was simply a bloody corpse on the ground. The strikes were so small and so fast the snake didn't even have time to scream out in pain.

'_Such ease.' _Naruto thought with a small shake of his head. '_How the mighty have fallen. Sarutobi-sensei has shown me his memories of Orochimaru, to think he had fallen so far. Then again, intelligence has given info he was working on an immortality jutsu,if it was based off of the one developed by the Second, he would only be as powerful as the host body. With such a decrease of strength, he might not have been able to cope and adjust his style. Sarutobi-sensei always said he was stubborn. The Sannin truly are overrated If there is the extent of their power.'_

Turning his back on the body, he didn't notice the flash of chakra a ring on the snake emitted, however, chakra embedded deep inside Naruto did.

Six years ago, Itachi Uchiha had murdered his entire clan. Naruto, who had been training with the Third for just over a year at the time, was in a bad place at a bad time. He, rather foolishly, confronted Itachi just after he had put hit little brother inside a genjutsu of some sort.

Now Itachi was known as a genius for a reason, and before Naruto could even register what was going on, the teen had knocked him out with a punch to the head. What Naruto didn't know however, was the tap to the forehead that Itachi had given him, sealing some his power into the boy.

Over the years, the power had lingered and gained strength, feeding off of not only Naruto's chakra, but the chakra of the nine tailed fox as well that of the Rinnegan. It had originally been the space-time jutsu called Kamui to allow Naruto get away in case of an Akatsuki attack. However, over the years, the power had evolved beyond that, eventually mixing with Naruto's chakra and body and becoming whole, no longer constrained to the one jutsu. The very essence of the Mangekyo Sharingan had been festering inside Naruto, using the power of the Rinnegan, its ancestor, and the potent chakra inside of Naruto to "repair" the holes in it. However, even as this occurred, none of the abilities activated. Itachi, in all of his brilliance, had calibrated this jutsu to the rings that all members of Akatsuki wore.

Orochimaru ruined that plan. The snake knew the rings held significance when he departed the organization after failing to steal Itachi's body. Thus, he had taken the ring with him. He also knew that the ring drew in chakra from his body, so the snake had to consciously prevent his chakra from being sent into the ring in fear of being tracked by the organization he had previously belonged to. Like all beings when they perish, all of his excess chakra leaked out of his body and into the earth, some of that chakra fled into the ring which release a pulse of chakra as it once again re-established a connection with its sister rings. While Naruto didn't notice this pulse of chakra, Itachi's did.

While said Uchiha was a genius, he could have never have predicted what would have happened with the power he embedded into Naruto. He had intended for the jutsu to teleport him to somewhere safe but with the changes the jutsu fell under, that didn't happen.

The problem simply was the delicate nature of space-time jutsu. Extreme finesse was required to use them and a precise amount of chakra needed to be used. This was actually the reason why the Fourth Hokage needed to use seals to perform his Flying Thunder God jutsu. The seals were what allowed him to use the exact amount of chakra when he didn't have time to concentrate, like in battle. The technique itself could be used without the kunai or even hand signs, but the very act of manipulating the chakra to such a degree would take decades of constant practice to achieve, even for a prodigy such as Minato Namikaze.

Anyway, the point is, Itachi had made a fatal calculation; he never saw the possibilities that the abilities he granted the child would evolve into something greater than he could have ever imagined. Since the jutsu had intertwined itself with Naruto's body and chakra, when the signal came for the jutsu, it came into effect, in a large manner. Instead of merely using the imbedded chakra of the Itachi had given him, the jutsu had latched onto all of the chakra in Naruto's body. That of Itachi's, that of the Kyuubi's, that of the Rinnegan, and that of Naruto's himself. The power of an S-rank shinobi, the strongest of the tailed beasts, the doujutsu of the founder of the ninja world, and the offspring of two S-rank shinobi, one of which was the Hokage, and the other the former host of the Kyuubi. The combined power was far more than the jutsu was intended to handle.

As soon as the jutsu activated, there was a huge spike in Naruto's chakra. A few thousand meters away, the Third Hokage along with five squads of ANBU felt the pulse and hurried their speed with the aging man praying nothing bad was happening.

When they got to the source, all they were able to see was spiraling effect of the jutsu vanish, leaving the corpse of the snake sannin behind, but no blond shinobi.

The thought of the Hokage and his guard just happened to mirror the thoughts of the blond as he felt his body being pulled into the vortex.

'_Well shit'_

- (Somewhere Else) -

He was in a sewer…how quaint.

** "Quite a mess child." **A deep, boom voice rang out from in front of him.

Looking up, the ringed eyes of the Rinnegan met the red slanted eyes of the greatest of the tailed bests who was behind a large metal gate.

"Kyuubi no Kitsune" Naruto replied levelly without a trace of fear. Why should he fear the beast after all? He was a wielder of the Rinnegan and a seal master in his own right, the fox had no chance against him seeing as it was already confined and in such a weak state.

The large, red fox that towered over the blond teen roared with laughter. "**Such fire in those eyes, no hint of fear. Just like **_**that **_**man. The one who mastered and subjected the sum of all of us, the Sage of the Six Paths."**

"What do you want, demon fox?" Naruto asked, eyes narrowing at the beast. "A space-time jutsu of some sort was used upon me, I need to find the source and return to Konoha."

"**You truly do not know?"** the demon asked, raising what Naruto assumed to be an eyebrow. "**HAHAHA, child, you don't realize the scope of what has occurred. Never did I expect this to occur."**

Making a single one handed ram sign, Naruto felt his chakra extend, forming chains that encircled the fox behind the gate and with another quick sign, slammed it to the ground. "That I suggest you talk."

The fox couldn't help but give another chuckle as he felt his body surrounded by the chakra chains and found himself unable to move. "**These are at quite a high level, Kushina would be proud of you. Anyway, it all comes down to those damnable Uchiha…like always."**

** "**What are you talking about fox?" Naruto asked, annoyance rising as he tightened the pressure of the chains slightly.

"**That brat…Itachi I believe his name was, sealed the space-time jutsu you felt into your body. The idiot didn't take into account the origin of the Sharingan and how the jutsu would react to the Rinnegan. Long story short, instead of staying isolated in your body, the jutsu interacted with ALL your chakra, mine, and that of the Rinnegan, magnifying its effect by hundreds of thousands of times. It is really quite amazing you are still alive and intact."**

** "**But that would mean…" Naruto said, eyes widening as his mind processed the possibilities. "Even using the reserves of a normal shinobi, using the wrong amount of chakra in a space-time jutsu, especially a teleportation one could transport you across the world…to have one utilize that much chakra…"

"**Now you understand." **The fox said with a vicious looking smile on its smile. "**As you can imagine, the possibilities are endless. The Six Paths Sage had done experimentation on such things, but he never actually tried it. Suffice to say, you could be anywhere at any time, in any of the theoretical infinite realities of the world. This is the reason most space-time ninjutsu are declared forbidden, they are forces of nature what should not be used by mere mortals frivolously. The only users I have ever seen in my days on Earth who have displaced competence in the field can be counted on one hand. The Sage of course, Mandara Uchiha, Hashirma Senju, Tobirama Senju, Minato Namikaze and even yourself should you choose to cultivate your already rather extensive knowledge in the field if the traces of chakra I sense on you are correct. In the end, it all boils down to an arrogant Uchiha fooling with forces of nature far beyond his control and understanding. Itachi Uchiha, while an able shinobi, is nothing compared to the god like figures of those men. Those hardened by warfare whose skills were unmatched, true equals to the Bjuu unlike shinobi of the current era."**

** "**Why are you helping me?" Naruto simply asked, gazing at the red eyed demon as the chains surrounding the beast lessened and dissipated. He never expected the beast to actually be helpful. He would never let down his guard around the demon of course, but this level of helpfulness was suspect. Of course, all of this knowledge supported his own research as well, so it was hard for him to refute anything that the fox said. With some knowledge from the forbidden scroll given by the ancestors of the Yamanaka clan , Naruto had built extremely powerful mental shields that even the Nine Tailed Fox was unable to penetrate. He knew that the fox had no knowledge of the secrets his mind held. It was rather disturbing to know that the fox could feel the effects of space-time manipulation on him though. Such sensitivity was thought to be far beyond the Bjuu and even sensor shinobi.

** "You are well on your way to becoming the next Sage." **The Fox answered with a feral smile, breaking the teen out of his mental musings. "**He was a man I respected beyond all others and in many ways, he was my father. You see, back in his time, all the Bjuu were a part of an entity known as the Ten Tailed Beast, during his prime, the Sage did battle with the beast and sealed it inside of himself, becoming the first Jinchuriki. On his death bed, the Sage split the Ten tails into nine separate parts, each possessing their own uniqueness and sapience. But then again..you know all about this don't you Naruto? Yes, I can feel it, the tablet left by the Sage, you have read it. You know all about its secrets and have used them to strengthen yourself. Such a resourceful child you are."**

** "**There must be more of a reason to help me simply because I have the Rinnegan" Naruto said blandly, ignoring and making no effort to confirm or deny the knowledge that he had read the tablet in question. After all, the Uchiha were all wiped out, they didn't need that knowledge did they?

**"You think this just has to do with the Rinnegan?" ** The fox replied, rolling its eyes slightly. "**Child, the Rinnegan has appeared in history numerous times. Why, it wouldn't surprise me if there was a possessor of the Doujutsu alive back home. But they are pale shades of the Sage, none have the power, the perseverance, or the will to become as great. They are content to be outstripped by normal shinobi, instead of striving to become like the Sage, gods amongst mortals. We Bjuu are described as evil…yet above all else we do two things. We respect power and we are subject to the natural order of things. You have power, enough to earn my respect, which had been earned by few people; your parents are among them. A noble sacrifice of selflessness is a powerful force, one that should not be underestimated. But secondly, the Rinnegan breaches the barrier between life and death. Edo Tensei was labeled forbidden because mere mortals are not meant to deal in these kinds of forces, it eventually destroys the user. The Rinnegan however, allows the user to truly breach this barrier between life and that of death, a feat even the Ten Tails and any of us Bjuu are not able to claim. No human since the Sage has ever been to fully use this power without dying a terrible death, but then again, none of them could hold all of the Six Paths powers like you have either. Since the founding of the Shinobi Village age I have been sealed inside a member of an Uzumaki clan. While my last two hosts were rather exceptional by mortal standards, they still lacked the spark to become legend. Even in your village, tales of Mito and Kushina Uzumaki are never told, nobody cares about them and they have been forgotten by history. You on the other hand will bring change wherever you go, each breath you take will stir the leaves of fate and each stride forward will shape the path of destiny for you and those around you. Of the Tailed Beasts, it is I who remember the age of the Ten Tails and it is I among my kind who knows the true extend of the Sages power. I will aid you young shinobi, because you represent something that our world hasn't seen in millennia. You have the means to control my power, both the key to the seal and the will to use it; I have nothing to lose from this deal and everything to gain. The rise of a god amongst mortals should keep me entertained for quite some time. Now…it is time for you to wake up child and you need to find out where you ended up."**

And with that, light flooded his vision as the sewer that was his mind disappeared into nothingness.

I-I

**And there we go, this chapter was pretty long but I am fairly satisfied with it. Now, before people complain how powerful Naruto is remember, he has been trained by Sarutobi, the God of Shinobi for years. Also, Orochimaru never really struck me as something that strong. I mean, they guy revived two Hokages and still only fought to a draw with Sarutobi when Sarutobi was fighting "miserable compared to his prime" i believe the quote was. The way I see it, he is stuck with the chakra reserves of the host body. Now, since most people don't have the natural skill of the sannin, he is actually heavily handicapped by his immortality jutsu. Anyway, this is the newest chapter. Please review and leave your thoughts. NeolithicMonarch bids you goodbye.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter V : Arrival**

**Chapter Five, rolling out. This took a long time, I am sorry. I am doing school and working as I just haven't been able to find any time to write at all.**

Above all else, Naruto was a shinobi. A killer, someone trained to survive and protect himself and his home. He was taught by a man feared by the entire world and was extremely powerful in his own right. That however was not important. He knew that power only went so far and he could fall easily if he didn't have knowledge to back it up. Knowledge was power, even for so called gods.

A good example of this was the Second Hokage. Tobirama Senju was an equal to his brother but in order to delay the elite hunter squads of Cloud Village during the First Great Shinobi war, he had to sacrifice his life. To put it simply, the man couldn't use his most destructive jutsu because they would have drawn too much attention and this would have gotten his students captured or killed, something he couldn't allow t happen. He knew this as he went into battle, and he fought hand to hand against dozens of foes to let his precious students escape. Among those was Naruto's sensei, a man who would shape the destiny of the Leaf more than either of the first two Hokages. The man, no matter how powerful he may have been, was defeated and killed because he was in a bad situation.

The moral of the story is that even the strongest can be killed and in many cases their strength works against them. So often, powerful shinobi learn to rely on their jutsu and bread and butter skills that they forget how to fight without them.

Kakashi Hatake was a prime example of this. He was a jonin by the age of 12, but once he received his Sharingan, his growth rate plummeted. As a child, it appeared that he would easily surpass his father, the White Fang. As he grew more and more accustom to using his Sharingan in a battle however, he stagnant. While the man was still an extremely powerful man, he wasn't anywhere near where people had thought he would be at the current time. He was known as the copycat, someone who copied the work of others instead of forging his own path.

As Naruto awoke, he stretched out his senses and found himself to be in an alley of some sort.

Quickly sitting up, he activated a seal located on the inside of his eyelids, coving his ringed eyes with a genjutsu, making them appear blue.

He had created the seal when he was ten years old and had just been inducted to the ANBU. Of course, as a vital security asset, he wouldn't be allowed to leave the village for a while, but he was still exposed to people who could see his eyes. Thus, he created the seal to place an unbreakable genjutsu over his eyes and while it was quite painful to apply, it was worth it in the end.

The best part was the simple fact that the genjutsu was unbreakable. Now, one might ask how that was possible, but the answer was quite simple. A genjutsu confuses the bodies' senses and makes the brain see, hear, taste, smell, or feel things that simply do not exist. This can occur to such an extent and the body can actually begin to break down itself if the exposure is severe enough. In order to break a genjutsu, your brain had to realize that something was amiss and then break out of the chakra fooling you. The Sharingan worked by allowing the brain to subconsciously "see" the minute flaws in genjutsu by combining all five sense together to create a comprehensive picture which would then be compared to the expected norm. The doujutsu would then send a pulse of chakra to the brain to dispel the jutsu if something amiss was detected. Theoretically, if one was able to create a jutsu to fool all five senses at the same time, it would be impossible to break out of. It was this, combined with the yin and yang chakra which allowed the Six Paths Sage to warp reality itself.

The great thing about his jutsu was the simple fact that there were no flaws. His eye color was simply a visual illusion. Making his eyes look blue changed nothing else about them, thus even if the Sharingan would see it, it would make no distinction between his blue eyes and his real ringed ones. Simply put, the change and illusion was so small scale that even the subconscious never made a connection between the eye color and genjutsu because none of the other senses could detect anything wrong. Thus, the brain had no way of realizing a genjutsu even existed and was perfectly content assuming the color of his eyes were blue. That added with seals to send just the right amount of chakra to the illusion created the ultimate way to hide his eyes.

Anyway, an oily voice brought him out of his mental musings.

"Well well, look what we have here?" The voice rang out as it entered the alleyway.

Looking forward, Naruto caught sight of the source. He was about six feet tall and rather well built for a civilian though his face was caked with dirt and his cloths were ragged. He had black hair and a small scar above his right eye and he wore a sneer as he eyed the blond with a crazed look in his eye.

"It's a bit early to be trick or treating kid" he said with an evil smile as he drew a jagged knife from his pocket. "Why don't ya come here with uncle Ricky and I can help ya find your way home."

To this Naruto rolled his eyes. He wasn't sure where he was, but from what he could see, he was surrounded by buildings taller than those even in Ame and made of what looked like glass. It almost appeared that they touched the sky. He would have to figure that out later. As for now, he had an idiot to take care of.

Reaching out with his senses, he scoffed as he "felt" the man. He had almost zero chakra, hell, they guy had less than even toddlers back in the Leaf. Now one couldn't measure battle skills based on chakra levels alone, but they were a good place to starts and from everything else he could see, the man didn't appear to be very impressive.

"I don't think I will." Naruto said softly, hoping the man would go away. While Naruto was no saint by any means, he really didn't tend to kill unless he had to…or was annoyed but that didn't happen that often. One of the first things Sarutobi had taught him was restraint and it was a lesson all who inherited great power needed to learn. Plus, property damage from lack of restraint gave the old Hokage headache. Most would consider such an attitude by a thirteen year old to be crazy, but for shinobi, it was a sad reality. Their world lived in a state of constant hatred and warfare, using children as tools of destruction was nothing new and stretched back to the times of warring clans.

"Oh?" The man questioned, his grin never leaving his face. "Its okay kid, I'll promise to take real good care of ya."

Now if there was one flaw with Naruto Uzumaki it was the fact that he was used to getting what he wanted. He was no spoiled brat like some royalty in the normal sense, but whenever he wanted something, he got it. It was a perk of being an Uzumaki and the youngest ever ANBU member. Having the Hokage and elders on his side didn't hurt either, but it was mainly his own power that commanded respect and awe.

This was a situation he wasn't used to. Someone wasn't doing what he said. Not only that, the man was threatening him with all the subtlety of Jiraya at the hotsprings. Needless to say, the blond was angry. Granted, being thrown into who knows where didn't help his frame of mind either.

To the untrained (and even most trained ones), nothing would seem out of the ordinary. To a highly skilled shinobi however, one might make out the quick hand sign Naruto made. What one would be able to see was the perfect clone of the blond that appeared behind the thug and put his hand to his head.

With a tug, a ghostly form, visible only to a select few who walked the line of life and dead rose out of the mans head as his body fell to the ground. With a mental order, the clone, using the soul powers of Naraka path, "ate" the soul of the man whose memories flooded into the blonds mind.

Now, having an entire lifetime of memories flood into their mind would be enough to kill a normal shinobi. Naruto however, was anything but normal of course. He was an Uzumaki for one, which gave his body incredible longevity and durability and his chakra was also exceptionally robust.

Secondly, he trained under the Third Hokage, a true master of the Shadow Clone jutsu. After using it for so long and with the right training, his body had gotten used to huge influxes of information like this one. The human brain truly was a powerful thing and his was the pinnacle of its form and processing ability.

_'This is!' _he thought, training off as his eyes widened, brain processing the knowledge of the now deceased man. The memories were incredible.

'_Amazing _he thought as his mind raced through possibilities, not really liking what they represented.

The idea of multiple dimensions wasn't a new one for Naruto, all users of space time jutsu knew of them, though the extent of that knowledge varied wildly. Summons for example lived in separate realms and by using other space-time jutsu like his father's Flying Thunder God jutsu, it was possible to phase yourself in and out of a dimension at will.

However, those were all realms created by their user. It was never thought that an entire dimension could exist separately and support life. Not like this anyway.

'_I guess they need to re-write the record books'_ he thought with a frown as he tried to quickly give his situation some thought. '_This is bad though, I have no way of getting home. Any space-time jutsu won't work since I have no way of connecting between this realm and home. Even if I were to invent a new type of jutsu to create a new, stable connection between the two, I might not even survive the trip or hell, I might not even end up home given the unpredictable nature of everything.'_

It was during this situation that he was thankful he was an ANBU. If he was just an ordinary child, he could only imagine how he would have reacted to the situation. He knew the plan was for him to be raised as normal before the found his Rinnegan. He wasn't bothered with the sentiment obviously, they village couldn't waste resources on everyone. However, he sure was glad he had unlocked his kekkei genkai. He had seen the newly minted genin before and they were pathetic. It was likely they would have panicked and drawn attention to themselves. Attention he could not afford to provoke if the memories were to be believed.

He knew his situation was dire, but above all else, he knew how to survive.

'_I need to play it slow.' _He thought, taking a deep breath as he exited the alley and quickly formed a handsign and formed a single ram seal. In a poof of smoke, his ANBU gear disappeared and he now wore a pair of blue pants with a simple white shirt. He had determined from the man's mind that his ANBU gear wouldn't blend in well. A simple change was in order. His henge would hide his appearance but he still would be afforded the protected allowed by his armor which was a plus. From what he could gather, the natives of this world would be unable to detect the jutsu.

'_No need to risk it though'_ he thought has he reigned in his chakra as far as he could, making himself appear as a civilian to an observer, well, non sensor observers anyway. While the memories of the man hadn't shown any beings capable of detecting him, there was those of great power in this world, and he felt he shouldn't risk it.

With a casual gait, he walked into the concrete sidewalk, hands in his pants pockets and expanded his senses as far as possible without revealing any of his chakra. He was feeling for any chakra signatures and much to his relief, he found none. Granted, his sensing ability when he used his Rinnegan wasn't as sensitive as the expert sensor squad of Konoha, but he could check his immediate area at the very least.

Now knowing that he was clear, he formed a half ram seal in his pocket and did a quick replacement jutsu with the wallets of several men he passed as he continued walking, acting calm and in control. After years of practice, acing in control was second nature to him.

The replacement jutsu was among the most basic taught, yet was extremely useful. Once one got past the stage of needing large objects to switch with after gaining greater control, it was possible to use air itself as a medium of replacement. Now, most shinobi never bothered with this, instead favoring more dramatic jutsu, but Naruto had made a point to learn until he could do it in his sleep. The only reason he even needed to use a hand seal was to tightly control his chakra, not leaving even a trace more than was necessary. With only one use of the jutsu, he had swiped all the cash from the well dressed people around him walking without a care in the world.

It was a bit risky since a tiny bit of chakra had to be used, but he didn't have much of a choice. He needed money to find a place to crash and he didn't think breaking and entering was the best idea. True, what he did was illegal, but it was less traceable to him that his other alternative. Now at least he had a bit of resources to work and plan with.

The knowledge he gained from the main was still processing throughout his synapses. While he could have just done a total dump, he preferred to compartmentalize the information and let his brain go through it in logical order. It took a bit longer, but saved him from an annoying headache. It wasn't a battle situation so instant retrieval of the knowledge wasn't quite as important. The basic knowledge like the language and such had already gone through and been stored as his own knowledge and the more specialized things were on their way. Luckily or perhaps not, the man was rather dim and there wasn't a whole lot of things to sift through besides the basics. He was a street thug, nothing more and his mind disgustingly reflected that.

As he walked down the street, he let his mind wander. His world had been fundamentally changed and he wasn't sure what to do next. No matter what however, he would survive, like always. It was almost like it was integrated into his very being, he was a survivor and a fighter. The legend of Naruto Uzumaki would continue, like all good stories.

**And the end. How was it so far? Please leave a review and tell me what you think. Once again, sorry about the long wait.**


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